Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 27 - State Attorneys; Public Defenders; Related Offices

• accommodation: shall include , but is not limited to, any apartment, residential cooperative unit, residential condominium unit, cabin, lodge, hotel or motel room, or other accommodation designed for overnight occupancy for one or more individuals. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Addictions receiving facility: is a secure, acute care facility that provides, at a minimum, detoxification and stabilization services; is operated 24 hours per day, 7 days per week; and is designated by the department to serve individuals found to be substance use impaired as described in…. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assessment: means a share of the funds required for the payment of common expenses, which from time to time is assessed against the unit owner. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association: means , in addition to any entity responsible for the operation of common elements owned in undivided shares by unit owners, any entity which operates or maintains other real property in which unit owners have use rights, where membership in the entity is composed exclusively of unit owners or their elected or appointed representatives and is a required condition of unit ownership. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Association: means the corporation for profit or not for profit that owns the record interest in the cooperative property or a leasehold of the property of a cooperative and that is responsible for the operation of the cooperative. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Beyond the safe management capabilities of the service provider: refers to an individual who is in need of:
  (a) Supervision;
  (b) Medical care; or
  (c) Services,

  beyond that which the service provider or service component can deliver. See Florida Statutes 397.311

• board: means the board of directors or other representative body which is responsible for administration of the association. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Board of administration: means the board of directors or other representative body responsible for administration of the association. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Bulk assignee: means a person who is not a bulk buyer and who:
  (a) Acquires more than seven condominium parcels in a single condominium as set forth in…. See Florida Statutes 718.703
• Bulk buyer: means a person who acquires more than seven condominium parcels in a single condominium as set forth in…. See Florida Statutes 718.703
• Buyer: means a person who purchases a condominium unit. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Bylaws: means the bylaws of the association existing from time to time. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Capital offense: A crime punishable by death.
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Clinical assessment: means the collection of detailed information concerning an individual's substance use, emotional and physical health, social roles, and other areas that may reflect the severity of the individual's abuse of alcohol or drugs. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Committee: means a group of board members, unit owners, or board members and unit owners appointed by the board or a member of the board to make recommendations to the board regarding the association budget or take action on behalf of the board. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Common areas: includes within its meaning the following:
  (a) The cooperative property which is not included within the units. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Common expenses: means all expenses and assessments properly incurred by the association for the cooperative. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Common surplus: means the excess of all receipts of the association, including, but not limited to, assessments, rents, profits, and revenues on account of the common areas, over the amount of common expenses. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• component: means a discrete operational entity within a service provider which is subject to licensing as defined by rule. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Condominium: means that form of ownership of real property created pursuant to this chapter, which is comprised entirely of units that may be owned by one or more persons, and in which there is, appurtenant to each unit, an undivided share in common elements. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Condominium parcel: means a unit, together with the undivided share in the common elements appurtenant to the unit. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Condominium property: means the lands, leaseholds, and improvements, any personal property, and all easements and rights appurtenant thereto, regardless of whether contiguous, which are subjected to condominium ownership. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Conspicuous type: means bold type in capital letters no smaller than the largest type, exclusive of headings, on the page on which it appears and, in all cases, at least 10-point type. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Cooperative: means that form of ownership of real property wherein legal title is vested in a corporation or other entity and the beneficial use is evidenced by an ownership interest in the association and a lease or other muniment of title or possession granted by the association as the owner of all the cooperative property. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Cooperative documents: means :
  (a) The documents that create a cooperative, including, but not limited to, articles of incorporation of the association, bylaws, and the ground lease or other underlying lease, if any. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Cooperative parcel: means the shares or other evidence of ownership in a cooperative representing an undivided share in the assets of the association, together with the lease or other muniment of title or possession. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Cooperative property: means the lands, leaseholds, and personal property owned by a cooperative association. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Court: means the court of legal jurisdiction in the context in which the term is used in this chapter. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Court reporter: A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court and produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Detoxification: is a service involving subacute care that is provided on an inpatient or an outpatient basis to assist individuals to withdraw from the physiological and psychological effects of substance abuse and who meet the placement criteria for this component. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Developer: means a person who creates a condominium or offers condominium parcels for sale or lease in the ordinary course of business, but does not include:
  (a) An owner or lessee of a condominium or cooperative unit who has acquired the unit for his or her own occupancy;
  (b) A cooperative association that creates a condominium by conversion of an existing residential cooperative after control of the association has been transferred to the unit owners if, following the conversion, the unit owners are the same persons who were unit owners of the cooperative and no units are offered for sale or lease to the public as part of the plan of conversion;
  (c) A bulk assignee or bulk buyer as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Developer: means a person who creates a cooperative or who offers cooperative parcels for sale or lease in the ordinary course of business, but does not include the owner or lessee of a unit who has acquired or leased the unit for his or her own occupancy, nor does it include a condominium association which creates a cooperative by conversion of an existing residential condominium after control of the association has been transferred to the unit owners if, following the conversion, the unit owners will be the same persons. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Director: means the chief administrative or executive officer of a service provider or recovery residence. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• disclosure: means a communication of identifying information, the affirmative verification of another person's communication of identifying information, or the communication of any information regarding an individual who has received services. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Division: means the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Division: means the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• evaluation: means a systematic measurement of a service provider's achievement of desired individual or service outcomes. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• Hospital: means a hospital or hospital-based component licensed under chapter 395. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Identifying information: means the name, address, social security number, fingerprints, photograph, and similar information by which the identity of an individual can be determined with reasonable accuracy directly or by reference to other publicly available information. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Individual: means a person who receives alcohol or other drug abuse treatment services delivered by a service provider. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Informed consent: means consent voluntarily given in writing by a competent person after sufficient explanation and disclosure of the subject matter involved to enable the person to make a knowing and willful decision without any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, or other form of constraint or coercion. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Involuntary treatment services: means an array of behavioral health services that may be ordered by the court for persons with substance abuse impairment or co-occurring substance abuse impairment and mental health disorders. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Law enforcement officer: means a law enforcement officer as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Licensed service provider: means a public agency under this chapter, a private for-profit or not-for-profit agency under this chapter, a physician or any other private practitioner licensed under this chapter, or a hospital that offers substance abuse services through one or more licensed service components. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• oath: includes affirmations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability: means an entity designated by joint rule of the Legislature or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• operation of the cooperative: includes the administration and management of the cooperative property. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Outpatient treatment: is a service that provides individual, group, or family counseling by appointment during scheduled operating hours for individuals who meet the placement criteria for this component. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• owner of a unit: means the person holding a share in the cooperative association and a lease or other muniment of title or possession of a unit that is granted by the association as the owner of the cooperative property. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Peer specialist: means a person who has been in recovery from a substance use disorder or mental illness for at least 2 years who uses his or her personal experience to provide services in behavioral health settings to support others in their recovery, or a person who has at least 2 years of experience as a family member or caregiver of an individual who has a substance use disorder or mental illness. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Physician: means a person licensed under chapter 458 to practice medicine or licensed under chapter 459 to practice osteopathic medicine, and may include, if the context so indicates, an intern or resident enrolled in an intern or resident training program affiliated with an approved medical school, hospital, or other facility through which training programs are normally conducted. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Physician assistant: means a person licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician or psychiatrist whose specialty includes substance abuse treatment. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• provider: means a public agency, a private for-profit or not-for-profit agency, a person who is a private practitioner, or a hospital licensed under this chapter or exempt from licensure under this chapter. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Qualified professional: means a physician or a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; a professional licensed under chapter 490 or chapter 491; an advanced practice registered nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464; or a person who is certified through a department-recognized certification process for substance abuse treatment services and who holds, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recovery: means a process of personal change through which individuals achieve abstinence from alcohol or drug use and improve health, wellness, and quality of life. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Residential cooperative: means a cooperative consisting of cooperative units, any of which are intended for use as a private residence. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Special assessment: means any assessment levied against unit owners other than the assessment required by a budget adopted annually. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Stabilization: means :
  (a) Alleviation of a crisis condition; or
  (b) Prevention of further deterioration,

  and connotes short-term emergency treatment. See Florida Statutes 397.311

• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Structural integrity reserve study: means a study of the reserve funds required for future major repairs and replacement of the cooperative property performed as required under…. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Substance abuse: means the misuse or abuse of, or dependence on alcohol, illicit drugs, or prescription medications. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• substance abuse impaired: means having a substance use disorder or a condition involving the use of alcoholic beverages, illicit or prescription drugs, or any psychoactive or mood-altering substance in such a manner as to induce mental, emotional, or physical problems or cause socially dysfunctional behavior. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Timeshare estate: means any interest in a unit under which the exclusive right of use, possession, or occupancy of the unit circulates among the various purchasers of a timeshare plan pursuant to chapter 721 on a recurring basis for a period of time. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Unit: means a part of the condominium property which is subject to exclusive ownership. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Unit: means a part of the cooperative property which is subject to exclusive use and possession. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Voting interests: means the voting rights distributed to the association members pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Voting interests: means the voting rights distributed to the association members as provided for in the articles of incorporation. See Florida Statutes 719.103
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
• writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01